Mystery Dungeon: Shell Shocked
by Arcane Fuse
Summary: A human-turned-Pokemon suddenly finds himself in a world of psychopaths, weirdos, and idiots. And worst of all, he's supposed to save them all.
1. Prologue

_**Welcome!**_

_Huh?_

_**You have been chosen.**_

_Chosen? Chosen for what? Is this a dream?_

_**Chosen…to save the Pokemon world.**_

_Pokemon? That dumb thing that children like? The things with the magical abilities and crap?_

_**I assure you, there is more to Pokemon than just that.**_

…_I swear, this is a dream. I don't even play Pokemon, and now someone says I'm going to—_

_**Please sir, listen. I want to make your transition to our world a pleasant experience.**_

_Why me? Why not any other person, probably one that actually PLAYS Pokemon?_

_**Because it was our gods that chose you.**_

_Gods?_

_**Yes, our gods chose you out of the billions of humans in your world.**_

_I don't even believe in the one god everyone here believes in. Why should I believe that your "gods" that chose me are real?_

_**I assure you, sir, that our gods are real.**_

_Do you have proof?_

_**Sir, I don't have much time to engage in such trivial banter such as this.**_

"_Trivial"? I'd have you know that, if this is for real, that I won't trust someone so suspicious. Not after what happened back then…_

_**Back then?**_

…_Nothing._

_**Anyways, before you depart for adventure, I must ask you a couple of questions.**_

_Great… A test… And just when I thought I got out of school…_

_**Don't worry, it's more of a… personality test.**_

_Why would you need that?_

_**To see what kind of Pokemon suits you best, of course. If you are going to save us, you'd**__**need the best form for you.**_

_I– wait, what?_

_**Now, question 1.**_

_Wait, what? Form? What the–_

"_**Your friend has made a meal that tastes horrible. They ask—"**_

_That's impossible._

_**Impossible? Why?**_

_I have no friends._

_**Oh, dear. I'm sorry. Anyways, question 2.**_

_You know, you still have to answer my—_

"_**You're on a stroll when a TV crew pounces on you for an interview. What do you do?"**_

_I'd punch them._

_**I'm afraid that's not an option.**_

_What?_

_**Would you… A, "Run away! How embarrassing!"**_

_Eh?_

_**B, "Answer questions properly,"**_

_This is multiple choice!?_

_**Or C, "Yuck it up! Woo hoo! I'm on TV!"?**_

_Why would I do any of those things?_

_**Please, select the best answer that relates to you. And please, be truthful.**_

_Ugh… I guess A would be the closest._

_**Okay, question 3!**_

_You know, about that whole "form" thing you mentioned…_

"_**You're about to buy a popular game when someone else grabs the last copy! How do you feel?" A, "Whatever." B, "Annoyed. I was here first!" or C, "I shed a few tears."?**_

_Whatever. I don't even care about video games._

_**Next question…**_

_Hey, stop ignoring me! I've been answering your questions, now it's time to answer mine!_

"_**You have a really important test tomorrow!"**_

_Ah! I'm gonna kill you if I ever find you!_

"_**What do you do?" A, "Study all night long", B, "Wing it! I'm sure it will be fine!" or C, "Test?! I think I have a fever…"?**_

_I don't even go to school, why should I care?_

_**Alright… B it is.**_

_Now, what do you mean by "best form for me?"_

_**Oh, that. You are about to become a Pokemon.**_

_What?_

_**Yes, in order to save our world, you need to become a Pokemon.**_

_Didn't your gods ever say anything about ASKING me if I even WANTED to BE a Pokemon?_

_**Their exact words were, and I quote: "Find our chosen hero and bring him into the Pokemon world. It is time for him to come."**_

_Great… I don't even get a choice in this._

_**I'm sorry. Just following orders.**_

_When I get there, I'll kill them… ALL of them…_

_**Please, sir, may I resume?**_

_Oh, yeah, sure… This is just a dream, after all…_

"_**Good news and bad news… Which one do you want to hear first?" A, "The good news." B, "The bad news." Or C, "I don't want either."?**_

_I honestly don't care._

_**C?**_

_C, sure._

"_**Yes or no, do you like karaoke?"**_

_No._

"_**There's a rumor around about a ghost haunting the school bathrooms! What do you do?"**_

_You know, I like how you are actually putting emotion into whatever you're reading._

_**A, "Scary… bathrooms!" or B, "Go in there anyways."?**_

_I don't believe in ghosts. B._

"_**Hey, what's that? There's someone behind you!"**_

_No there isn't, this is a dream! There's only you and me here!_

"_**So… did you look just now?"**_

_No._

_**Alright, C.**_

_You didn't even… fine, next._

_**We're almost done here, don't worry. "If you saw someone doing something bad, could you scold them?"**_

_Um…_

…

…

_**Either "Of course!" or "Not really" would be fine, sir.**_

…_Not really, I guess._

_**Really now? Okay, last question. "Are you a male or a female?"**_

…_Do I even have to answer? You can see me, right?_

_**Actually, no, I can only hear your voice.**_

_Can't you tell my gender from my voice?_

_**Well… maybe, but—**_

_Aren't you the one calling me "SIR" the WHOLE TIME!?_

…_**Yes, sir.**_

_EXACTLY! What kind of question IS that?_

_**Well, I was tasked with—**_

_If you could tell I'm a guy, then why did you even have to ask?_

…_**Sir, please don't overreact.**_

_I'll react all OVER if I want to!_

_**I apologize. Anyways, sir, may I please continue?**_

_Ugh… Fine…_

_**Now if you'd please… Place your finger on the board in front of you.**_

_Where'd that come from?! And how is it floating?_

_**Please, sir, I'd very much like to evaluate your aura.**_

_Okay…_

_**Now, relax. Breath in… Breath out…**_

…

…_**Okay, you may remove your finger.**_

_That quick?_

_**Yes. Your aura… is a bright aqua color!**_

_Okay…_

_**Now, your nature… "You seem to be the timid type! You're quite gentle!"**_

_Timid? Me?_

"_**You're sometimes a little shy about new things, aren't you?"**_

_Is it because of my answers? Cuz, just saying, I wasn't really being honest with most of it._

"_**Do you miss out on some experiences because you get worried about the newness of the challenge?"**_

…_No, that's not why—_

"_**Of course, there's also a great benefit in being cautious, isn't there? After all, it keeps you nice and safe! You live life at your own speed, with no hurries and no worries!"**_

_Safe… right…_

"_**A timid and gentle type like you should be…"**_

…

…_**That's it.**_

_What?_

_**Now, to decide what kind of Pokemon you will be…**_

_Well, if had to be a Pokemon, how about Charizard?_

_**I'm sorry, sir, but that may be too much for someone like you.**_

_Too much? Okay… I don't want to be Pikachu… That's basically the mascot, right?_

…

_What other Pokemon do I know… There's the, uh, giant… dragon… thing… From that parade… That was a Pokemon, right?_

…_**Got it.**_

_What?_

_**Squirtle.**_

_Squirtle? That sounds like some kind of stupid turtle with a bladder problem._

_**Well, the turtle part is right, I suppose.**_

_Do you even know what a Squirtle is?_

_**Well, I'm not very familiar with earth creatures such as this "turtle" you mentioned.**_

_Does it have a shell?_

_**Yes.**_

_Is it a bug?_

_**Why, no, sir.**_

…_I'm pretty sure it's a turtle._

_**Well, Squirtle have the ability to retract their whole bodies into their shells, which they use for defense.**_

_What does this have to do with me?_

_**A timid type like you would find comfort inside the shell that Squirtle have.**_

_I'm not timid!_

_**Also, they are water types.**_

_I don't understand your Pokemon word things! Types? What're those._

_**Basically, you can use water to fight.**_

…_So like water balloons?_

_**Well, there is a move called "Water Gun" that you may recognize.**_

…_So squirt guns?_

_**You also get to breathe underwater.**_

_Sold!_

_**Sold? Just like that?**_

_Yeah, why not?_

…_**As long as you are pleased, sir. Now, if I may ask, I'd like for you to select a partner.**_

_Partner?_

_**Yes. Someone that will accompany you on your journey.**_

_Ugh… Great… Company… And a journey…_

_**Now, what Pokemon would you like to assist you on your journey? It can't be just any Pokemon. I'll tell you what Pokemon may not be allowed.**_

_But… I don't even… Ugh… Pikachu._

_**Are you sure about this choice?**_

_Why not? If I can't be a Charizard, why should my partner be?_

_**Okay, sir… "That's it! You're all ready to go! Be strong! Stay smart! And be victorious!"**_

…_**And watch out…**_


	2. Chapter 1: Awakening

"Hey."

No response.

"Hey, are you alive?"

Still no response.

A jolt of electricity flickered from the noisy mouse's cheek. "Wake up!"

An explosion rang inside the young turtle's shell, penetrating his slumber. His shell trembled as thousands of volts of electricity coursed through his body. But even still, he didn't get up.

"I hope I didn't make things worse." She peered into the shell, barely able to see a blue limb, sort of twitching in place. She pressed her ear on top of the shell and heard a sound that both relieved and angered her.

"Zzzzzz…"

She stood up, her electricity flying out in bunches. "Fine! Just keep on sleeping!" She reared back a foot all the way, then swung it forward with all her might, making contact with the shell with her toes. She whimpered a little, tears forming in her eyes, and suddenly jumped up and grabbed her foot. "Owowowowowow!"

"Zzzzz…Shut up…I'm trying to sleep here…"

The mouse broke away from her foot and found the shell talking to her. "Oh, you're awake now."

"What are you doing, yelling in the middle of the night?"

"Night?" The calm forest air flew by as she looked to the sky, eyeing the sun's path. A few clouds tried to distract her, but they didn't do anything to cover the fact that it was not nighttime. "It's the middle of the day."

"No, it's night. It's completely dark. Are you stupid?"

The mouse wasn't sure if she was the stupid one here. "I'm pretty sure it's daytime. See, the sun is shining."

"No it's not."

"Well, maybe you should come out of that shell."

"What shell?" The mouse was dumbfounded. How could this guy not notice that he's inside a shell? "Whatever. If the sun is out, just open the window."

Window? They were outside. There's no need for windows when out in the forest. That, at least, was something she was sure of.

"Hey, are you feeling well?"

"I'm fine."

The mouse got even more worried. "Well, then you should, you know, move your head out of that shell, or something."

A round head came out of the shell, still partially inside, showing the annoyed face of the Squirtle. His eyes were closed, probably too tired to even bother opening them.

"That's it," she encouraged. "Now, just push it all the way out."

Plop! The head fully emerged from the shell and looked at her angrily. "I'm not a baby, you know."

He slowly opened his eyes, staring at the sun, blocked by a large mouse figure. She had a flower attached to her right…? No, left ear. And she had red cheeks. Big, red cheeks.

He continued to stare at her, wondering what kind of creature she was. This, coupled with the eerie silence of the forest, started to creep her out.

"Hey…" she whispered softly.

Suddenly, two arms and two legs popped out of the shell, along with a long, curled tail. The Squirtle lifted himself with all four limbs and scurried backwards. "It talked…"

"Uh, are you alright? You need a doctor or something?"

"A talking mouse… It's a talking mouse…" He backed from the mouse until his shell bumped into a tree. He felt behind him, trying to find another escape route, but couldn't before the mouse approached him again. "Stay back, demon mouse!"

"'Demon mouse'? Did you hit your head or something?" She tilted her head up, back at the partly cloudy sky. "Well, you DID kinda fall from the sky a minute ago, so…"

"Are you kidding? Me? Fall from the SKY? I wouldn't be alive after that! NO human would be alive after that!"

"Well, considering you're a Squirtle and not a human…"

The Squirtle stared her down in the eyes. "What?"

"I said that you're a Squirtle—"

"I'm human." He stood up and spun slowly in a circle. "See? I'm every bit a human."

But she giggled instead of agreed. "Well, all I see is a normal—no, scratch that, just a Squirtle."

"Eh!?"

"Yeah, just look at yourself. The arms, the legs, the shell… Nothing says human about you."

The Squirtle peered down and found that she was right; He found himself with stubby blue arms and legs, a tail, and a turtle shell. He felt himself all over, confirming that they were real.

"T-This can't be happening…This has to be a prank…" In his panic, he spotted a nearby pond. He rushed over, totally ignoring the mouse he was talking to, and stared at his reflection. The water was pretty clear, and though wavy, he could tell that it wasn't a human face looking right back at him.

"What happened to me?!"

The mouse slowly approached him from behind, afraid to engage in more conversation. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Her voice made him jump, and he landed on one foot, his body dangling over the pond. As much as he could to stay upright, flailing his arms like he was trying to fly, his leg quickly gave way and he fell face first into the pond.

He found himself with three problems. One, the pond wasn't shallow. It was quite deep, in fact. Two, he never learned how to swim. Three, he can't breathe underwater. There's no way for a human to—

He wasn't human anymore. In an alien body, he thrashed about, flailing his limbs randomly about underwater, holding in his breath, hoping to reach the surface. He felt his mind getting dizzy from the lack of oxygen. Then that dizziness led to drowsiness. He felt his movements becoming weaker and weaker. He found his vision getting darker and darker.

"Hey!"

He heard a voice calling for him.

"Turtle-boy, just breathe!"

His mouth opened slightly, letting loose a flurry of bubbles that floated in front of him, drifting upwards to the surface. He thought he'd run out of air, so he tried to quickly hold the rest in, but found it too late to do so. He found some of the (disgusting) pond water starting to run down his throat, and grabbed his neck to restrain it, hopefully preventing it from reaching his lungs. His face became blue (well, more blue than usual).

"Dude, it's okay! Breathe!" He felt a shaking in his shell. His body rumbled and tumbled, floating to the side of the pond and crashing into it. His hands left his throat at impact, and he started falling to the bottom. He closed his eyes, knowing that there's no hope for him now. He was going to die here, and he had no way of stopping it.

He felt the water move around him. He had a feeling that something was in front of his face.

"Dude, if this is your idea of a joke, then you have a seriously twisted sense of humor."

He felt the movement again. The voice came back, this time louder. Probably closer to his ear. "You know that Squirtle can breathe underwater, right?"

He opened his eye to see a fish circling his body. Some weird, aqua fish with green stripes on his side.

"What the heck is a Squirtle, anyways?" He covered his mouth instantly, surprised he could still talk, despite losing all air in his lungs.

"Heh, finally figured out that you could breathe underwater?" The fish swam around him, chuckling. "Water types such as you and myself, yeah, we filter the oxygen in the water for our use, so we can breathe underwater. This is a basic thing that I though most of us knew, but apparently not."

The Squirtle threw his body up and met the fish eye-to-eye. "Water type? What's that?"

"Wow!" the fish exclaimed. "I never knew a Pokemon that _didn't_ know anything about types." The fish swam around and laughed again, taunting him.

"POKEMON!?" the Squirtle freaked.

"Yeah, Pokemon. So anyways, back to types, each Pokemon has at least one, at most, two. It's basically an aspect of nature that a Pokemon has. Like, there are fire types, which can control fire, and us water types, who can breathe and use water, and don't get me started on—"

"I get it," the Squirtle interrupted. He fell back to the bottom, both his arms and legs crossed.

_So, I've become a Pokemon… This has _got_ to be a dream. Or a nightmare. There's no way this can be real._

"Uh… Do you plan to sit there all day, or are you going back to the surface?"

"How?"

The fish fluttered around, taking note of his fins moving through the water. "Just swim!"

"But I don't know how to swim."

It seems that, with every embarrassing fact, the fish would always swim around and laugh. "What kind of water type doesn't know how to swim?"

"Me," he bluntly stated.

"Oh, can't help you there. Hope you had a nice life!" The fish swam away, leaving Squirtle alone to his own problems. He was already sick of being underwater. All he wanted was to get out.

He got back to his feet and looked up. He saw a bit of sunlight reaching down for him. _Time for a swimming lesson… Lesson 1: how to _not_ drown._

He pushed his body up from the ground and made his first attempt at swimming. He thought to flail around, but considered what good that did for him, he decided to try pushing the water out of the way. He took his arms and held them above his head, swiftly forcing them and any water in the way downward, then quickly slid them back to where they were before. Sick of hitting the ground yet again, he kicked his feet under him in fury. He found himself steadily rising upwards, closer and closer to the light above.

_I'm doing it! I'm swimming!_

He quickly pushed his head out of the water and met the eyes of a concerned mouse, right where she was before he fell in.

"Oh, good, you're still here. I thought you might have—"

"Did you know that I could breathe underwater?" He drifted back to land. The land that the mouse scared him off of.

"Of course I did!" she yelled. "I was worried that you didn't."

Putting his hands on the grass, he pushed himself up out of the water. He sat there, water dripping from everywhere on his body. "Well, I figured that out."

While the Squirtle flicked water off his arms and legs, the mouse came up to him and offered a hand. "Here, get up."

He took the hand and pulled himself onto his feet.

"My name is Robin."

"I never asked you for your name."

"Well, when a stranger falls out of the sky onto your back, then claims to be a human, you know they need help. And if you have to help them, you at least should know each other's names, right?"

The Squirtle noticed the scratches on the mouse's belly, coupled with the seemingly red spot on her back. "Was that me?"

"Oh… yeah, but it's okay. I'm fine, see?" She moved her body while hiding any flinches. She normally wasn't really good at hiding pain, but it seemed as though the Squirtle bought her act.

"Can… can you tell me more about what happened? You know, about falling from the sky."

"You fell out of nowhere. There's not really much to say. Well, except for you falling on your head." She pushed her head underneath his and looked up curiously. "So, what's your name? Why were you in the sky?"

"My name? It's…" That was the moment he realized. He didn't know his own name. He tried recalling other things. His family. Friends. Home. Favorite food. What he had for dinner last night. But he found nothing. All his memories were gone.

"…Do you remember? Cuz, if you can't, then I'll give you a new name."

"Really?"

"Of course!" She examined him, from top to bottom. "Hm… You seem like a Turtley. Do you like it?"

"No."

"Okay… How about Shellson? That's a good name, right?"

Again, he declined. He didn't even have to make it audio to tell Robin he hated the name. His frown was all she needed to see.

"Okay, how about—"

"Wait. I… I think I'm starting to remember," he lied. He didn't want to put up with any more of her stupid names.

"Really?" she asked, all sparkly-eyed. "What is it?"

"What is it? It's… It's…" He casually looked around, trying to find something to make up. He spotted a sea of green on the lower trunk of a large berry tree. "It's… Moss!"

Robin's smile turned into a frown and her ears dropped. "Moss? That's a weird name."

"Did I say 'Moss'? I-I meant Ross!" _Yeah, Ross. Cool name._ "Ross! That's my name. Don't wear it out," he sheepishly laughed.

"Ross… Okay, Ross. Ross the Squirtle."

He groaned. "What exactly is a Squirtle, anyways?"

"Squirtle is an aquatic Pokemon, often making their homes around ponds and lakes, being more like freshwater creatures than seawater ones. As such, they are classified as water type. Their special ability is Torrent, which increases the—"

"I get it. You don't have to drop the info bomb on me."

"Sorry," she apologized. "It was just something I read in a book. 'The Joys of Water Pokemon'."

"So, I'm guessing you're a Pokemon too?"

"Of course! There're only Pokemon in this world! And the occasional human, but there hasn't been one in these parts for a LONG time."

"Well, what Pokemon are you?"

She stood up tall, flaunting her notched tail to and fro. "Pikachu!"

"Pikachu? That annoying rat from the anime that always gets captured by those idiots?"

"Anime? What's that?"

That's when Ross realized what he had just said. Anime. A human thing. He recognized what it was. At least he had some knowledge of something from his life. Possibly. Was anime something he enjoyed watching? Or did he just hear it around a lot? Now, he was more confused than excited.

"…It's nothing."

Robin didn't seem to let up with her questions. "Well, Ross, where did you come from? Got any family?"

Ross again tried to search for his memories. He thought really hard and long for anything, trying to imagine his family's faces, trying to imagine he house he grew up in. But all he found was nothing. The whole anime thing must've gotten his hopes too high. "I… don't remember."

"Oh," Robin said with a disappointing tone. "Well, what are you going to do now?"

"Uh… I'm not sure."

"Okay," Robin walked the opposite direction of the pond. "I'll show you to town, then you can decide on where to go after that, okay?"

With nowhere else to go, Ross silently accepted her offer. "Better than just sitting here, I guess."

"Alright!" Robin lifted a hand in the air, clenched into a fist. She swung it in front of her, pointing in what Ross assumed was the direction of the city. "Let's go!"

Robin marched forward, while Ross dredged behind. As he started walking, he passed by a small basket on its side, decorated with various flowers of different colors. There seemed to be some pink berries inside, some of which seeming to have rolled out of the basket, like it fell out of the hands of whoever it belonged to.

"Hey, what's with the basket?" he asked Robin. He assumed it was hers, since no one else was in the vicinity.

Robin glanced back to answer him. "Oh no, I totally forgot!" She ran back and picked up the basket, scooping up the stray berries and dropping them inside. "With falling turtles and drowning turtles, I completely forgot to pick pecha berries for mom!"

"So this is your basket?"

"Well, my mom's." The words seemed to rocket out of her mouth. "Now I need to find berries, but I need to be home before dusk, because that's when they come out, and…"

"Woah! Slow down! Who's 'they'?"

"The night predators! They'll attack anyone who's out at night. Now, where're some pecha berries that I can pick…" Robin drifted out of the conversation as she scurried around for a berry tree.

Ross glanced back to the tree he looked at earlier. In the leaves, he saw what he believes are pecha berries. "Hey, why not try that tree?"

"What tree?" Ross had already started for the tree he mentioned. "Wait, Ross, don't go there! That's a—" Robin chased after him, but found herself too late.

As soon as she caught up to him, trees suddenly sprouted up behind her. The trees ahead curved and changed, and a path was woven out of the darkness of the forest. She stopped and frantically looked around, her eyes being drowned in fear. Though, Ross didn't seem to have noticed.

"…mystery dungeon."


End file.
